


culture shock

by joshriku



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, M/M, social distancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 13:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23712415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshriku/pseuds/joshriku
Summary: “In fifteen minutes, I will forget all about the horrible, awful situation I’m in, and be carried lovingly into Cloud Strife’s arms.”Riku pauses. “Cloud Strife? I know that guy.”“Well, duh. Cloud is insanely popular—he is one of the most beloved videogame characters of all time. Of course you would know him, everyone does.”“No, I mean I know him. He hangs out around Radiant Garden sometimes.”It’s Joshua’s turn to pause. “Shut up. No you don’t.”social distancing sucks in long distance relationships.
Relationships: Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 34





	culture shock

**Author's Note:**

> the longer this quarantine goes on the more braincells i lose but also the fewer ways to cope with depression i find. this is Coping!!! and it works!! sometimes u just gotta write joshwiku as ur young adults trying to live through this. i talked to my friend marius and then i told jun abt this n got enabled too so like. So Like. 
> 
> also there is just something inherently funny about the twewy gang having to social distance as well. especially joshua. bastard crimes getting payback

“Literally dying. I have not seen the sun in about three months.”

_“You’ve been quarantined for like a month, Josh. You could just open the window?”_

“Fine, allow me to rephrase this into a less dramatic setting,” Joshua sighs. “I am a humanitarian, and the lack of physical contact with other people has been driving my brain insane. I also happen to miss hanging out with people, outside, in the sun. Does that make more sense now?”

 _“Sure does,”_ Riku answers, sympathetic. The fact he’s sparing Joshua time of his hectic day only makes him jealous: unlike him, Riku could still hang out, go on missions, and chill with other people. Joshua was, in more than one way, bound to Shibuya right now; unable to leave the city _and_ the world itself. _“I’m sorry about this situation, again.”_

“Eh, I’ll get used to it,” Joshua waves it off, only to immediately add, “That is a lie, by the way. I am not used to it. You can’t even come to visit, because you’ll get quarantined too—and as much as this would be more fun if you were here, I simply cannot let you be trapped in another world, not when our lives are so different from each other.”

 _“Sucks. I miss you,”_ Riku drops out of nowhere, like Joshua is ready to handle that much information and feelings at once. _“Mom keeps asking where my boyfriend is. She keeps being shocked about you being quarantined.”_

“Ah, Ms. Riku’s mom, truly what I would not give to have her food right now. I believe this pandemic was targeted exclusively at me for enjoying your mom’s cooking. Tell her we’ll be okay in a minute and to _please_ save me a plate for when this all ends.”

_“Sure. Did you get that game you wanted?”_

“Yes. It’s installing right now,” Joshua looks over to his TV screen—fifteen minutes left. “In fifteen minutes, I will forget all about the horrible, awful situation I’m in, and be carried lovingly into Cloud Strife’s arms.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line. Joshua raises an eyebrow, staring at the phone, and yep: still on the call. “Riku? I’m not going to cheat on you with Cloud Strife. Don’t be ridiculous.”

 _“No! That’s not it at all!”_ he rushes to say, already sounding flustered. Oh, how he misses being able to tease him in real life. _“Just, Cloud Strife? I know that guy.”_

“Well, duh. Cloud is insanely popular—he is one of the most beloved videogame characters of all time. Of course you would know him, everyone does.”

_“No, I mean I know him. He hangs out around Radiant Garden sometimes.”_

It’s Joshua’s turn to pause. “Shut up. No you don’t.”

_“I do! Do you need photographic evidence or something?”_

“Yes, because what you’re saying right now is preposterous. In what universe—how in the _world_ could Mickey Mouse _and_ Cloud Strife co-exist?”

_“So you can come to terms with Mickey being my friend, but not me knowing Cloud?”_

“Who said anything about me coming to terms with Michael Mouse?”

_“Stop calling him that!”_

“That’s his name, Riku. I refuse to call him in any other way,” Joshua continues, just a little more agitated now. “So you and Cloud…?”

_“Don’t get me wrong. We’re not friends **friends,** I’d say he’s an acquaintance at best.”_

“Unbelievable. Imagine calling _the_ Cloud Strife your _acquaintance.”_

 _“Don’t have to. I’m doing it right now.”_ Riku laughs like Joshua’s current breakdown is anything to take lightly. _“Listen, I’d love to keep explaining my ties to Cloud, but my break is over. Call you at night?”_

“But _Rikuuuuuu,_ ” Joshua sighs deeply once more. “Fine. Go be with people, in the wonderful outside world where you can touch others. I will remain here, isolated, with no one else but Cloud Strife’s wonderful 4k muscles.”

_“You’re so dramatic.”_

“It’s how I cope. Bye. Send me pics of you and Cloud, though.”

_“Mhm.”_

Riku hangs up, just when the TV says the game is ready to be installed. Cloud Strife’s back with the Buster Sword greets him, and now it’s a little awkward, thinking about the fact his boyfriend knows him in real life and has actually spoken to him. Joshua is about to control Cloud’s life, not for the first time, and definitely not for the last time.

Whatever. As long as it gets him through quarantine.

Joshua’s eyes hurt just slightly from playing with the lights turned off, and as he’s deciding about whether to turn on the lights or not only to keep playing, his phone rings again. Without checking who it is, Joshua picks up. It could only be one person, anyway.

“Riku?”

 _“Huh? No, it’s me, dickhead,”_ Neku answers. _“Did you download the game?”_

“Oh. This is underwhelming,” Joshua says, if only to piss Neku off. It works. Neku sounds like he’s going to kill him in a second. “To answer to your question, yes I have. I love it so far.”

_“Cloud looks insanely good.”_

“I agree.”

_“Tifa too. I’m having an awful time. I keep putting the game on pause.”_

“See, unlike you, I am not a weakling. I am aware to see more Cloud content, I must keep progressing. However I _have_ been going, ‘oh, Cloud’ out loud more than I can count.”

 _“Quarantine making us a little more desperate for Cloud,”_ Neku sighs over the phone. _“You don’t have an excuse, though! You have a boyfriend!”_

“And when was the last time I saw my boyfriend, huh? Thirty-seven days ago. **_Thirty-seven._** Did you know he’s friends with Cloud? I found out today.”

_“What the hell?”_

“Right? I don’t believe it yet.”

_“I don’t know. He’s friends with Mickey Mouse. Maybe he’s right.”_

“Until I see it with my very own eyes, I will not believe him. Anyway, you’re distracting me from Cloud. Anything else you want to say?”

_“Nah. Called just for that. Quarantine killing me here.”_

“Same here. See you someday, Neku.”

_“See you.”_

Back to Cloud and his social-distancing thoughts.

**[Riku]:** Alright. I passed by radiant garden just in case cloud could be there and asked him for a pic

 **[Riku]:** said it was to show it to my mom that I’m okay and he believed it

 **[Riku]:** here you go (image.jpg)

Joshua spits out his drink. Indeed, Cloud Strife himself—blond, spiky hair, blue eyes, maybe not so Mako-infused—is standing next to Riku, weak peace sign thrown on the photo. What the hell? What the actual hell?

Made sense, in a way: clearly, Riku being in touch with other worlds meant different realities existed— making it obvious that such things like Cloud Strife from **Final Fantasy VII** could be real but it still throws him off so much he puts down his phone for a second.

After the second passes, he rings up Riku.

“How dare you send that with no previous warning?”

_“So you believe me now?”_

“You did offer me some irrefutable proof, yes, and I’m very much on the verge of tears right now. If I stare at it again, I might simply break down crying, and none of us want that.”

Riku laughs. _“Glad you liked that. How’s the game?”_

“Well, so far I’m still in Midgar, doing a mission with Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs. Ever heard of those people?”

_“Hm… can’t say they ring a bell. Sorry.”_

“It’s okay. I’d freak out more if you told me you were secretly best friends or childhood friends with them.”

_“No, not at all. I have other three childhood friends, though!”_

“Oh really? Thought they were just Sora and Kairi.”

_“Nah. They’re Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. I’m kinda too busy to properly catch up with them, but yeah, we’ve been friends.”_

“…Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, you say.”

_“Yep.”_

“There is so much to unpack there but let’s just throw away the whole suitcase,” Joshua moves on. “It’s a fun game. I’d love to tell you more about the plot, but I am unsure how it affects your relationship with your friends to know about their parallel lives.”

_“You literally made me watch A Goofy Movie. I couldn’t look at Goofy without wanting to cry for like a week, and then wanting to ask him so many things about his life. I think I can handle it.”_

“…Fair enough.”

So Joshua begins telling the plot of the game as well as he can, with Riku’s interjections of _“Oh, Aerith is my friend!” “When does Yuffie show up?” “I know Tifa, but again, she’s like an acquaintance,” “Why is Leon not in this game?”_ being partly replied to, partly ignored, if only for his sanity. When he’s done explaining, though, he lets out a big sigh.

“This would be so much more fun if you were here.”

 _“Aw,”_ Riku says. _“Stop talking like that. I’m trying hard to not miss you here.”_

“This stupid pandemic! Riku. I’m desperate. I’m even thinking about dirty things. Forbidden stuff.”

_“…Like what?”_

“Hand-holding! Top-forbidden stuff right now. How dare I, in the middle of this global crisis, even think about touching another person?”

He can hear Riku rolling his eyes. _“Dramatic. Maybe I don’t miss you as much now.”_

“No, you said it already. No take-backs.”

Riku laughs, making his stomach flutter. This thing of not seeing anyone for over a month is killing him slowly. _Especially_ his boyfriend that he so sadly had grown attached to, and even grew spoiled of seeing him three times a week.

“We should just start living like old Victorian era men and pretend we’re star-crossed lovers, addressing each other strictly on letters. Maybe I’ll lose my mind upon seeing a pic of you and seeing that your ankle is uncovered.”

 _“…You say so much weird stuff sometimes,”_ Riku says, still fond. _“Sure. You can still send mail?”_

“Oh, you’d be on board with that?”

_“There’s a mailbox in Twilight Town. Bet it reaches Shibuya.”_

“You are simply the best.”

* * *

_My dearest, Riku,_

_I am hoping this letter reaches you in good health and good times, very much unlike the current state my life is in._

Riku sighs as he starts to read. Why was his boyfriend so dramatic? He was mostly joking about the letters, seeing as how he could simply _text him,_ but nope. Here it is. An actual letter sitting on his mailbox. There is a flower attached to it, and definitely the smell of perfume sprayed on it, which really just makes him laugh after being floored over how ridiculous Joshua could be sometimes.

_If I had to put a name on my feelings when it comes to missing you, I would simply leave it nameless, as no adjective or name could ever hold a candle to the way I—_

Was this real ink? He was absolutely having fun writing this letter. The picture is perfectly spread out inside his brain: Joshua sitting with a shit-eating grin on his desk to work on the most pretentious letter to send to him. He’s _really_ taking it seriously. The image makes him laugh, despite the contents of the letter succeeding in making him flustered.

“Hey! Riku!” Kairi waves once she spots him, jogging to catch him outside. “What’s up? Why are you up so early?”

“Got mail,” Riku vaguely gestures at the letter. “Just from Joshua.”

“Oh, Joshua! You haven’t visited him in a while,” she tilts her head, trying to take a peek of the letter, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just, his world is going through a pandemic. Apparently some virus is spreading quickly, so everyone is social-distancing. If I went there, I’d also remain trapped in the quarantine with them.”

Kairi gasps. “He’s not… dying, is he?”

Riku shrugs. “I mean, he says here that he’s dying of not being able to hold hands, but physically, he’s fine.”

Not like a virus would affect Joshua anyway. Riku knows the real reason he can’t go out is because while he wouldn’t get sick at all, he _definitely_ would carry the virus, and be responsible for spreading it more— _especially_ given his rank.

“Thank goodness. Well, I’m glad he’s okay. Are you going to send him a letter back?”

“Yep. Gotta get me some real ink right now.”

“I’ll help!”

Kairi hops on ahead. Riku sniffs the card one more time—yep, definitely Joshua’s perfume.

He really misses him now.

“You are the most dramatic person I’ve ever met.”

 _“I take it you found my letter to you,”_ Joshua probably has the most bastard grin he could ever put on. _“How would you rate it? I’d love to hear your review.”_

“Five stars out of five,” Riku replies, seriously. “The contents were great, made me laugh, and the perfume with the flower was a great touch. My mom loves the flower, by the way.”

_“That was for you, not her.”_

“Well, it’s hers now.”

_“Not even a slight regard for romance from you, huh?”_

“I mean, I kept the letter, I’d say the romance is off the roof right now.”

_“You better. I even considered taking polaroid nudes and mailing them to you—”_

“What?!”

“ _—but I figured you wouldn’t know what to do and your mom would ask you about the letter, so I decided to be kind and lovely… for now.”_

Riku swallows, “Don’t try sending nudes via mail. Please.”

_“But the risk!”_

“No!”

 _“Riku, you party-pooper,”_ Joshua sighs. _“You’re not doing your part as a star-crossed lover.”_

“Pretty sure this isn’t what ‘star-crossed lover’ entails.” Clearing his throat and his brain from any type of thought, he continues, “How are you today?”

_“Good, all in all. Ate well. Got so bored I decided to paint something.”_

“Will you show it to me?”

_“Ah, it’s nothing I’d be showing off about—when I say paint, I’m talking about the fact I painted one flower with lines and called it a day. Then I ran a bath. Thought about the pandemic. Went right back to Final Fantasy. Say, your friend Lea…”_

“What about him?”

_“Does he happen to like, have a brother? Or a relative?”_

Riku blinks. Did… Lea have a family? Besides Isa, that is. “Not… that I know of?”

_“Hm. Let me send you a pic.”_

He opens the notification and his eyes widen immediately.

“Oh god. I see what you mean.”

 _“See? Don’t they look like they could be related?”_ Joshua sounds like the amount of free time he has let him come with a conspiracy theory. _“I know it’s not him because his name is Reno. But the similarities are way too clear.”_

“Yeah, I agree. That’s weird? I’ve never heard Lea mention anyone of his family, at all. He could be like, a distant uncle. Or his dad.”

_“The fact that Reno could be dilf age in your world really is making me feel some type of way.”_

“I don’t think I want to ask you what a dilf is.”

_“Aw, Riku, you’re so smart!”_

“Don’t patronize me.”

That makes Joshua laugh. _“Enough about me. How are you?”_

He rambles to Joshua about his day; simply carrying his duties as Master, teaching some kids, training with Terra and Aqua, etc. Joshua sighs and longs for human contact once more, which as sad as it is; his whining makes it slightly amusing.

“I found a new restaurant in Corona, though,” Riku says. “Ironic as that is. I wanted to visit it with you, whenever you’re free from Shibuya.”

_“Ah, that day cannot come soon enough.”_

“You’ll get through this.”

_“Yes, I will, but I sure as hell will complain the entire time.”_

Riku snorts. “Have it your way.” Yawning, he continues, “Listen, I’d love to keep talking, but I’m really tired.”

_“I see. I understand. Leave me to my yearning and longing for us to see each other again, I am used to it.”_

“Glad you are!” Riku says. Joshua protests. “Good night. I love you and I miss you.”

It finally shuts up Joshua. _“Warn a guy before you say those things.”_

“Nope. Good night.”

**[Joshua]:** If you’re going to leave me alone with my yearning, at least send me a selfie so I can sigh longingly and stare at the distance.

 **[Riku]:** don’t you have Cloud?

 **[Joshua]:** Cloud holds no candle to you. However, if I ever meet him, please never mention this to him. He is the love of my life.

 **[Riku]:** so no selfie

 **[Joshua]:** :(

 **[Joshua]:** Rude.

 **[Joshua]:** By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. The name ‘Rinoa Heartilly’—does it ring any bells?

 **[Riku]:** nope, sorry. should I know of her?

 **[Joshua]:** No, just curious. I plan on sending you questions about each Final Fantasy character to try and crack the code on why exactly you know them but not others. Will not let you sleep tonight.

 **[Riku]:** (image.jpg)

 **[Joshua]:** AHEM. RIKU. Warn a guy?!

 **[Joshua]:** I can see your collarbones?! Is this what Victorian-era men felt like?

 **[Joshua]:** Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you Lord for this

 **[Riku]:** good night have a good yearning

 **[Joshua]:** Thank You So Much

**[Joshua]:** did you send me a pic of you sleepy only to shut me up? Cruelly brilliant. I commend you.

* * *

After two months of not seeing him, Riku’s heart beats a little wildly as he makes his way to Hachiko. Two months is a _very_ long time, especially if you were as in love with your boyfriend as Riku is. He spots him at last, and it’s almost like a movie, that Joshua turns around at the same second.

Oh goodness. He’s so much more beautiful in person.

Feels like _ages_ since the last time they hug, so when he finally hugs Joshua again, it’s incredibly tight and lifting him off the ground just a little.

“Hi,” Joshua says, resting his arms around his neck, sounding ten times more relieved. “Wow. It’s been a while.”

“I missed you,” Riku smiles at him, remembering how fun it is to hold Joshua, how nice he always smells, and how his voice is so much better in real life. “You okay?”

“Yes. Excellent. Wonderful. Happiest day of my life, maybe. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen the sun? Three hundred and fifty five days.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is.”

“You’ve gotten even _more_ dramatic.”

Joshua smiles at him. “Of course. Come on, we’ve got some catching up to do.”

**Author's Note:**

> do you know how many times i've heard baby one more time by britney spears? way too many. i must confess. that my loneliness. is killing meee noooow don't you KNOW i STILL BELIEVE . 
> 
> real lore for this fic is that joshua plays final fantasy and digs info from riku but also he hates mickey mouse + refuses to address him as mickey because it humanizes him. my google docs folder defo has a fic where they meet maybe one day i will unhinge n post cursed shit here
> 
> was absolutely anything about this fic serious? absolutely not! does it matter.. also no because its a rarepair. stay safe everyone ! <3
> 
> [tumblr](http://joshrikus.tumblr.com/)  
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)  
> 


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